Something to think about
During these troubled times, I was recently talking to a friend and she asked if I heard of ‘storming, forming, and norming’. She went on to describe a three-part process.
Storming is when the storm hits. Panic, (PANdemic --I’m not a wordsmith but I wonder if the two are connected?), pandemonium, chaos, stormy waters, anything out of the norm that throws everything into disarray. The turbulent period. Whirling. This phase can sometimes feel like it will last forever. But what makes this storm special is it happening to us all at the same time.
The next phase is Formulate. Once we get over the initial shock, swallowing the reality, we come up for air. We get our balance and hammer out a workable plan. At least a temporary workable plan to weather the rest of the storm.
The example my friends used was ‘I spent too much time in my pajamas watching the news yesterday. And I had a lousy day. But I’m not beating myself up, I’m learning what works, and what doesn’t,’ she said. That‘s the Forming phase of our process here. We’re given new parameters so we must adapt and formulate some sort of workable routine.
For me I’m only watch the news once or twice a day, then it’s business as usual as much as I can. Shower, eat well, exercise, sleep, projects (some of my activities include painting ducks, something for someone else like The Story Project for Mount St. Mary’s, thank you notices to post in the elevator for our staff here or other encouraging writing). Downtime might be reading, suduko, scrabble, or working on a jigsaw puzzle. Spiritual time spent might be meditation or reading the bible. But the important thing is to work out a plan to feed your Body, Mind and Spirit each day in balanced ways. Peace will be your guide. If it’s causing anxiety stop doing it. And that is ‘Forming.’
Then we Normalize these new routines by sticking to them. Self discipline or self control go far. She’s our best friend during times of crisis. Its no coincidence that its one of the Fruits of the Spirit.
So there you have it. ‘Stormin’, Forming, & Norming’. Maybe something to think about if you’re stuck at even where or how to begin to deal with this all.
What phase are you at?